Decorative Touch

Last night I attended a holiday party with girlfriends - it was a very welcome night out, complete with a fun gift exchange and white elephant gift.  I really need to do nights like that more often - - Alexa was trying to guilt me into not attending, claiming I never spend time with her.  I had to laugh at that notion, and I dashed out the door without an ounce of guilt ;).  Alexa wasn't complaining about my attendance this morning when she saw the mini cupcake (I purposely picked the one decorated for Hanukkah) that my friend Jenny made sure I brought home for her....  Besides, I think Alexa and Damon had an enjoyable night together, complete with Chipotle for dinner - Alexa was very proud to tell me that she tried pork - and a Portillo's strawberry shortcake for dessert.  Not a bad night for the Hovey fam!

After I picked Alexa up from school today, we had some very important shopping to do....we went to the dollar store to buy decorations so that Alexa can decorate Granty's headstone when she travels to Fresno on Christmas.  Alexa loves to "decorate," so I figure this will be a perfect tribute to her beloved baby brother on the holiday.  I turned Alexa loose in the dollar store, abandoning my normal hang-ups about color coordination and mixing silver and gold, and she took full-advantage of the artistic freedom.
She definitely employs the "more is more" philosophy and took no time at all to fill the basket with glittery and sparkly decor.  When the fourth package of garland was tossed into the basket, I had to force her to regroup and be a little more selective about her decorating choices (I know, I couldn't help myself...).  By the time we were done perusing the holiday department, Alexa had amassed quite the collection of decorations.  Granty's headstone will be very well-decorated on Christmas - - definitely gaudy, but adorned with love.

Showing off the dollar store haul
(including an elf hat she conned me into buying).